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Merging Models Together

I have two adjacent water system models for water utilities that we recently acquired. Both systems have been modeled in H2oMap. Is there and easy way to combine the data from these two models into one so that we can model it as the single water system that it is now?

1) How many scenarios do you wish to combine?
2) Are you just concerned about bringing in the model elements only?

Generally this can be done, but requires a lot of careful control and checking when done to make sure that the import does not cause unexpected conflicts. This is not always an easy process and may involve a significant amount of effort and checking depending on the complexity of each individual model. Since there is no Model Merge tool in H20MAP Water you would generally need to do the following as a basic process although it is difficult to give a fullproof procedure. We recommend you use this as a basic guideleine and or consider having a consulting firm provide oversight if both models are complex. : I also recommend saving early and often in this process in case something goes wrong.

1) Open both models and initialize them. Model to Keep = Model1 and model to export = Model 2
2) Check to see if you will have any ID conflicts between the 2 models. If there are ID Conflicts in Model1 and Model 2, it is best to first change the ID's in Model 2 before you export elements and scenarios. You can use the Utilities -ChangeID to change ID's of elements all at once. Use the set rows button to add more than the default of 20 elements. You will have to change ID's by element type (junctions, Tanks, Pipes, etc) separately. Once ID conflicts are resolve move to the next step
3) Identify which scenarios and elements you wish to export from Model2 into Model 1
4) Before Importing it is a good idea to save a copy of Model1 somewhere in case you run into issues and need to revert to the original version.
5) Check how "facility Sets" are assigned in each model and if you will need to add fields or elements to make the imported model elements work in the Model1 once imported. This is essentially how each model defines what is active in each scenario.
6) Determine which scenario will be imported and which Model1 Scenario is most appropriate to bring the new elements in for that scenario
7) Determine if any key user defined field for each model element need to be created in Model1 to house information used in Model2 user defined fields. Check for each model element data type for user defined fields. Create these missing fields as needed in Model 1 before importing.
8) Exports from Model2 - Export shapefiles using the export manager for all the new elements that would be imported into Model1 These are the only way to get certain fields used in Model2 into Model 1. This could be imported using the Import manager in Model 1
9) Create exports for each scenario in Model 2 to bring in to Model 1 using EPANET export. This will make sure that things like "controls" and initial status statements are imported over.
10) You will need to determine if new scenarios and "data Sets" are needed for different scenarios in Model 2 that will be imported to Model 1. What ever is needed will need to be created before the EPANET exports are imported into Model 1. Data sets that are typical include demand sets, control sets, valve sets and tank sets, but you need to know what is different for different scenarios in your model to know what you need for sure.
11) Switch to the first scenario and import in the EPANET data for that scenario. It may be a good idea to limit the import to just things like controls and initial status in the EPANET import, but in H2OMAP you potentially could import everything, but once you know what you still need to bring in just bring those specific sections in.
12) Switch to the next scenario and repeat for each scenario to bring in.
13) Review data imported and check that any key fields are populated based on the facility set definitions of what is active in each scenario.
14) Check results from before and after to make sure nothing unexpected occurred in the import

If your two models are simple, this process can be fairly easy, but the more scenarios each model has the more difficult this process can be.

The two models that I am trying to merge are very simple models. There is only a base scenario for each model. I have tried to follow the instructions as you presented them but I keep getting errors when trying to import the data from one model to the other. I went into both models and changed the IDs for all of the elements so that there are no common IDs in either of the two models.

Since they each only have a base scenario I stayed with that for each one.

All of the facility sets have the been set correctly and the key user defined fields are the same in both models.

I exported shapefiles for each of the model elements from Model 2 as directed. I also exported Model 2 as an EPANET file.

When I try and import this same data into model 1 it comes back with error messages when trying to import the junctions. It appears as though all the pipe data imported correctly but that is all that came through.

Just to follow up on a few key points from our conversations we had that resolved your issues, that may be helpful to others in a similar situation:

1) Importing elements into H2OMAP Water - Make sure to import Junctions and Tanks before importing pumps, valves, and pipes. Also make sure the "create new records box is checked when importing the new element shapefiles"
2) The ID Change tool is critical for models that have elements that share common ID's. Make sure all ID's are updated before merging the two models.
3) Pattern and Curve ID's - if the models share common pattern and curve ID's the patterns and curves would have to be recreated in the old model by using the "clone" option in the pattern and or curve editor and then have the patterns and curves where used reassigned to use the new curve/pattern ID before exporting.
4) If there is any difficulty in importing the curves and patterns via EPANET, just import those two sections alone form EPANET and this should resolve any issues. Curves and Patterns with existing curve/pattern ID's would not get imported via EPANET as they would already "exist" so edit common Curve/Pattern ID's before importing.
5) It is probably best to import the element shapefiles first and then import only missing data like (curves, patterns, controls [ both simple and rule based controls ] via EPANET.
6) Any key User defined field names used in the model to be imported would need to be added to the model receiving the data for each element type before importing the element shapefiles for that information to properly come in.
7) If elements are in the DB, but are not showing in the MAP run a Utilities-> Update Map From DB -> Force all Network and this will redraw the elements properly.

Randy, If there are any additional tips/hints I did not mention that you have after completing the model merge, please feel free to add them to this thread.